Breast Cancer Awareness Programme in Technopark

A breast cancer awareness programme was conducted at UST Global, Technopark, by doctors of the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC), Trivandrum, on Thursday. The programme was coordinated by ‘Colours’, social initiative of UST.

Dr. Jem Prabhakar, Dr. Jayakrishnan, Dr. Suchetta and Dr. Arun Peter Mathew took sessions on the various types of cancer, for the employees of UST. Members of ‘Ashraya’, a voluntary organisation functioning in the RCC, were also present.

Giving an introduction to the basics of cancer, Dr. Jem talked about the two types of tumour – benign, and malignant. “Benign tumours are rarely life threatening, and do not usually grow back. While malignant tumours maybe life threatening and sometimes recur.”

Referring to a common question on cancer, Dr. Jem said that about 5-10% of cancers may be inherited. “However ninety percent of the cases are from sporadic reasons.”

Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the commonest type of cancer that affects women, Jem said. “Breast cancer constitutes more than 40% of the cancers that develop in women.”

Showing examples of celebrities, he said that people like Kylie Minogue and Sheryl Crow were able to survive the terminal disease because of early diagnosis. While in the case of actors like Sreevidya, it was late diagnosis that led them to their death.

Mentioning the risk factors of breast cancer, Dr. Jem said that in addition to age and other factors, being a female is the biggest risk. “I say that because males can also develop breast cancer, although the percentage is very small.”

Dr. Jem talked about the importance of screening for breast cancer. “Self Examination of Breasts (BSE) should start at a very early age, like 20. As you age, you should go to a specialist (Clinical Breast Examination or CBE), and later on, go for mammography.”

One should check for skin changes, redness, visible lumps, nipple crusting etc., as part of the examination. The CBE can start at the age of 35. The third stage of doing mammography can start at 40. Mammogram is a type of X-ray that takes 10 to 15 minutes.

Treatment includes surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and hormonal therapy, Jem said.

The cure rate of breast cancer would depend on what stage it is detected. “Stage 1 has a cure rate of 90%, stage 2 has 80%, stage 3 has 50% and stage 4 has less than 20%.”

Tobacco-Control, Bowel Cancers

Dr. Jayakumar gave a session on tobacco-control challenges and opportunities. “More than 40% of smokers live in two countries — India and China. Nearly 0.8 million new cases of cancer are diagnosed in India every year. Among these, cancers related to tobacco intake, directly or indirectly, are 48% in men and 20% in women.”

Jayakumar said that when one smokes, he takes in 4,000 chemicals including nicotine. Passive smoking could be equally disastrous, he said.

Dr. Arun Peter Mathew briefed about bowel cancers. “Screening should start at the age of 50. Following a balanced diet and reducing red meat would reduce the risk of bowel cancer.”

Feedback from Technopark employees:

Kajal: The session was very informative. Not something we hear everyday. All of us come across this disease at one time or another, through the experience of our friends or relatives. So we should know how to deal with it.

Jiju: We do not have much information on the disease. It was a very helpful session. Recently a colleague lost his daughter. It is important that everyone should know about the disease.

Muthamizh Selvan Selvarasu: I hope that the increase in the number of cancer affected persons nowadays would have alerted the USsociates especially the women, and they would have understood the necessity to have regular medical check-ups.

Sreejith Vijayan: The session on ‘Cancer Awareness’ was very informative. It helped to remind or spread the awareness about the factors or actions that may cause Cancer.

Lekha Chandran: The cancer awareness session was highly informative and gripping. The images, though disturbing, left an indelible mark in everyone’s heart.

Pratheesh Nagasubramanian: I would say the pictures, which they showed us was very helpful to understand the impact, which this terminal disease can cause. These kinds of sessions should happen regularly as people can be aware of what is happening around them, and this in turn helps to kill their shyness and prepare themselves for screening if needed.

Soumia Mullassery Narayan: The session was informative, stressing on the need for maintaining and balancing a healthy lifestyle and also about why it’s necessary to take tests for early detection of cancer.

Deepthi Madhu Pampadivalappil: The sessions on the steps to be taken to detect breast cancer and gynecologic cancer at an early stage were indeed helpful. It can also help to prevent the misconceptions that people have about such diseases

Source: Yentha.com